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Removal (Deportation) Defense

Scott Mossman regularly defends clients before the San Francisco Immigration Court, including both respondents at the nondetained location at 120 Montgomery Street, 8th Floor, San Francisco CA 94104, and at the detained location at 630 Sansome Street, 4th Floor, San Francisco CA 94111.

Most of Scott's clients fall into two groups: (1) clients with lawful status put into removal proceedings due to a criminal conviction and (2) clients put into removal proceedings after denial of an immigration application that they submitted without the assistance of an attorney.

The best possible representation in removal proceedings is important because a noncitizen normally receives only one chance to prove that he or she should not be removed. Further, the consequences of an order of removal can be severe. A noncitizen may not be able to return to the United States for 5 years to life.

In the removal proceedings, the immigration judge first must decide whether there is a valid reason to remove a noncitizen. There are many reasons to remove a noncitizen, including fraud, abandonment of lawful permanent residence, entry without inspection, criminal activity, and drug use. The immigration laws regarding removability for conviction of a crime are particularly complex. Second, an immigration judge also will decide any applications that would prevent removal if approved.

Appeal of a Removal Order

An order of removal issued by an immigration judge or DHS officer may be challenged by appealing the decision to a higher court. The next higher court, if an immigration judge issued the order of removal, is the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA). The BIA is a division of the U.S. Department of Justice located in Falls Church, Virginia.

If the BIA upholds the removal order, then judicial review often is available from the United States Court of Appeals. Unlike the BIA, the Court of Appeals consists of independent judges appointed by the President to life terms. Also unlike the BIA, the Court of Appeals has the authority to decide that a law passed by Congress violates the Constitution.

I have represented many clients before the BIA and U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (the Court of Appeals that covers California and much of the western United States). Prior to opening my own office, I worked at two immigration firms where my primary responsibility was to represent clients on appeal before these courts.

To learn more about appeals, visit Appeal FAQ's.

Request a Case Evaluation

Common Forms of Relief:

• Cancellation of removal for lawful permanent residents (INA 240A(a)) and non-lawful permanent residents (240A(b)).

• Adjustment of status to permanent residence, through either 245(a) or 245(i).

• Discretionary waivers, including 212(h), 212(i), 212(k), 237(a)(1)(H), 237(a)(1)(E)(iii), and former 212(c).

• Asylum, 241(b)(3) withholding of removal, and Convention Against Torture withholding or deferral of removal.

Scott Mossman is a licensed attorney and active member of the State Bar of California, Bar #227178.

For pending criminal charges, we advise defendants, criminal defense attorneys, and public defenders throughout the entire State of California.
In removal cases, we represent clients residing anywhere in Northern California before the San Francisco Immigration Court.
For USCIS applications, we primarily represent clients before the USCIS San Francisco and San Jose Field Offices, including clients from Alameda, Berkeley, Concord, Fremont, Hayward, Martinez, Milpitas, Mountain View, Napa, Oakland, Palo Alto, Pleasanton, Redwood City, Richmond, San Francisco, San Jose, San Leandro, San Mateo, San Rafael, Santa Clara, Santa Rosa, Sunnyvale, and Walnut Creek. For appeals of denied USCIS petitions and waivers, we represent clients living anywhere in the world.

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